As I was fearing, I woke up at 5 AM this morning after a few hours of off and on sleep. Mike's a snorer, I should have remembered that. Must get earplugs today. Starbucks wasn't open (yes, I'd go to an honest to gosh Japanese coffee shop before Starbucks, but there don't seem to be any..) for another hour, so I walked around Shinjuku, down to Yoyogi and back. The streets were empty save for a few straggling drunk kids and the advance team for Tokyo's assault on the day: Sidewalk sweeping old ladies, white-gloved cops, and delivery guys. Seven AM, and back to Starbucks.

I've never sat in a Starbucks before, typing away on my MacBook like a cliche (I'll have you know it was straight coffee, not a venti soy whatever), but I'm in Japan so I think I'll get away with it. Also, a couple hundred yards from me are dozens of Japanese who really should know better lined up to buy Krispy Kreme donuts by the multiple dozens.

When everyone else finally woke up we went to the amazing and terrifying food level of the enormous Takashimaya department store to hunt for breakfast: random filled dough products, selected entirely on appearance instead of ignorant examination of their labels. One turned out to be tuna fish, which I really can't stand, so I gave it to Mike and we popped in to a corner store to find a replacement. Now, as I mentioned last time, people here seem to have an obsession with packaging that I find a bit excessive. So when the lady at Takashimaya put each bread item in its own little bag, then the pair into yet another bag, I thought I could offset that the tiniest bit at the convenience store: The kid rang up my two items and pulled off a plastic bag from the rack; I said I didn't need a bag, idimasen ("don't need", as far as I know); he nodded, turned around, and threw the unopened bag into the trash.

Well, at least he saved me the trouble.

There's plenty more to the day, including the most disgusting yet delicious thing I've ever eaten, but it's late, I've had somewhere around four hours of sleep in the last 48, and I'm starting to have odd physical dissociation sensations. So,

To be continued..